Bucs Aim for Rebound in Annual Homecoming Game

The Game: The Bucs look to bounce back
from their setback at Carroll last Saturday as they host the annual
Homecoming Game against Knox College.

The Teams: The Buccaneeers fell at
Carroll University 33-21 last Saturday in their first road test of
the season. The Prairie Fire were shut out by St. Norbert
College 49-0 in Galesburg last Saturday.

The Coaches: Chris Brann is in his fifth
season as head coach of the Buccaneers. He is 2-2 against the
Prairie Fire, 1-1 at Strong Stadium. Chad Eisele is in his
first season as head coach of the Prairie Fire and his eighth
season as a collegiate head coach. He is 6-0 against the
Bucs, 3-0 at Strong Stadium.

The Series: The Buccaneers and Prairie
Fire are meeting for the 94th time, the third
most-played series in the Beloit Football books. The Bucs
lead the series 50-41 with two ties. Beloit has won nine of
the last 12 meetings, including the last two seasons. The
teams first met back in 1899 in a 6-6 tie.

Buccaneers Last Time Out: Beloit came
from behind but couldn't catch Carroll University last Saturday
afternoon in a 33-21 defeat in Waukesha. The Pioneers jumped
out to a 14-0 lead in the opening quarter before the Bucs got on
the board four minutes into the second quarter on a Brian Maughn to
Derek Carrier 37-yard TD pass. CU answered with a short
scoring run at the 3:03 mark but the Bucs pulled to within 20-14 at
the break when Maughn connected with Andrew Christensen from 36
yards away with 57 seconds left. Carroll pushed their lead to
27-14 at the 4:10 mark of the third quarter, the only score in the
quarter, and then made it 33-14 at 9:28 of the fourth on a short
run. The Buccaneers closed out the scoring with 7:15 left
when Christensen caught his second TD pass of the game from Maughn,
this one from 26 yards away. Maughn finished with 214 yards
passing and the three touchdowns on 13-31 passing with an
interception. Carrier had 85 yards receiving on six catches
while Christensen had 80 on three catches. Julian Ross had
four catches for 49 yards to take over the top spot on the Beloit
career receiving yardage chart, passing Mike Meteyard
(1993-96). Defensively, Tony Baratti had his third straight
double-figure tackle game, getting 11, while Michael Underwood had
ten. Valde Raizys had a pair of sacks.

Last Time vs. the Prairie Fire: Andrew
Christensen was all over the field as Beloit topped Knox 42-14 in
Galesburg, Illinois, on September 26, 2009. Christensen
accounted for 326 total yards and scored a school-record tying four
touchdowns to lead the Buccaneers to their third win in four tries
this season. The Prairie Fire opened the scoring midway
through the opening quarter with a short scoring run. Christensen
then got things going for Beloit with a 69-yard punt return midway
through the second quarter to tie things up. Brian Maughn then hit
Odin Grina with a 32-yard scoring pass 3:50 before halftime to put
the Bucs up 14-7 at the break. Christensen got his second TD
of the game 19 seconds into the third quarter when Maughn hit him
with a 58-yard TD pass. Dillon Hess pushed the lead to 28-7
early in the fourth quarter on a four-yard run before Knox pulled
closer on a 23-yard scoring pass. But Christensen closed out
the scoring with his third and fourth scores of the game, on six
and three-yard runs, respectively. Christensen had 15 yards
rushing on three carries, 151 yards receiving on seven catches, 107
yards on five punt returns, and 53 yards on two kickoff returns.
His four TDs mark the eighth time a player has scored that many in
a game in Beloit history. Maughn finished with 373 yards passing -
tying the all-time Beloit single-game record - and two TDs while
Terence Steward had 48 yards rushing on 17 carries.
Defensively, Tony Baratti finished with 24 tackles, nine solo and
four for loss to lead the way. Valde Raizys and Samual Bauman both
made ten tackles and Vince Salucci picked off a pass.

Homecoming Game Celebration: According to
available records, Saturday's game is the 97th
Homecoming Game in Beloit College Football history. Based on
information, the Homecoming Game at Beloit College was first played
in 1910. That year the Buccaneers defeated Monmouth College
17-0 in the final game of the season, a season that saw Beloit
sport a 6-1-1 record under head coach Dana Evans, who was in his
first season. In the last 30 seasons, the Bucs have gone
18-12 in the Homecoming Game, including a four-season winning
streak from 1997 to 2000 and wins in six of the seven seasons from
1994 to 2000. Last season's Homecoming
win over Lake Forest College was the Bucs' second
straight. They are looking to win three straight Homecoming
Games for the first time since 1998 to 2000.

AFCA Coach To Cure MD: Buccaneer head
coach Chris Brann and his staff will be joining thousands of
college Football coaches across the nation on Saturday by wearing
sideline patches in support of the Coach to Cure MD.
Supported by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), the
rapidly growing effort has raised more than half a million dollars
to battle Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Duchenne Muscular
Dystrophy is the most common fatal genetic disorder diagnosed
during childhood and primarily affects boys across all races and
cultures. Fans are asked to donate to research projects
supported by Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy, the largest
nonprofit organization in the U.S. focused entirely on Duchenne
Muscular Dystrophy.

Individual Accolades: Julian Ross now
sits atop both the Beloit career receiving yardage and receiving
TDs lists in the record books. The only receiving mark he
hasn't reached is career receptions, and he needs 19 to top
that mark…Tony Baratti's 11 tackles last Saturday, the
third time in as many games this season he's reached double
figures, moved him into second place all-time in career tackles for
the Bucs. He needs six tackles to surpass David Bilek's
mark of 367 (2003-06)…Vince Salucci blocked Carroll's
point-after attempt after their final touchdown on Saturday and now
has seven blocked kicks in his 23-game career…

Up Ahead for the Bucs: The Buccaneers hit
the road for back-to-back games, playing at Grinnell College next
Saturday, October 2, and then traveling to Lake Forest College on
October 9. They return home on October 16 to host Ripon
College.